


Into the Stars

by idigam



Series: Desert Cryptid [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cryptozoology, Druids, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-12-02 00:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20947061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idigam/pseuds/idigam
Summary: A sequel was wanted, A sequel's plot formed, A sequel appears.





	Into the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Please no hating on Allura here, she's in a real bad position and the writing is meant to reflect that.

**2 Years Ago**

Macidus dispassionately observed the wreckage of the research facility, everyone is dead, sentries, doctors, and the test subjects. The whole place is not salvageable, Haggar ordered it destroyed, she didn’t want any of the commanders outside the inner circle to come snooping. So Macidus, the druid, not one of the Four, they didn’t leave Central Command, not unless they were escorting Haggar, so he’s here, he was responsible for this place when the High Priestess isn’t here. Responsible for the chief project. He looked at the mutilated meat, one of the earlier experiments in flesh craft. The only evidence of who was responsible a single masked figure moving through one hall for a fraction of a second.

Failures or test beds...

All except one, Kaathe, the hunter, the half-galra from Earth, the one Macidus had spent three decapheobs training under Haggar’s instruction. A valuable task, one not meant for someone below the rank of the Four, but they couldn’t leave, not when they’d discovered him, not with the Red Lion’s possible discovery at the same time, thus the honor was his. Kaathe’s body was not among the others, and his knife was gone. Escaped then, Haggar would be livid, and Macidus knew that he should be too. What he felt was closely guarded, something his own, it should not be allowed, anything but utter devotion to the High Priestess was treason. Yet, Macidus couldn’t help it, he feels pride in his wayward... apprentice. Another taboo idea, devotion only to Haggar, only to the Empire, never to each other, never to students, never were they meant to have identities of their own.  


“Destroy this place, her most revered eminence does not want even a hulk left behind,” the Druid watched the ion cannon of their dreadnought destroy the thing. He watches it blown to smithereens, feeling nothing, relaying nothing, nothing save that little glimmer of pride in his wayward student.

****

**Today**

The Blue Lion coasts through the worm hole and after a brief trip through what to Pidge’s estimation was a doctor who opening their odd group found themselves in orbit over a planet. A motion sick engineer who… Lives up to that assessment; Pidge adjustes her glasses, “I’m just surprised it took him this long.” The giant purple cryptid as the arguably oddest of the group laughs a bit, “oh boy, she’s patient but I guess ‘vomiting in the cockpit’ is the limit of that patience.” Lance the wannabe Casanova from Cuba just looks over at Hunk, “I’ll help you clean it up buddy. Hey cryptid boy there any towels in the mountain of supplies you opted to bring?” Kaathe growls Pidge thinks, _sorry you’re my friend and I love you, but Lance has a point_, considering he’d brought like half his den in supplies. Shiro puts a hand on his shoulder hesitating but if Kaathe noticed he didn’t say anything, “play nice guys, I can get the towels.” Ah yes, Shiro their officially dead military pilot, kidnapped by aliens and turned cyborg. Oh, how she wants to get a look at that arm, what kind of programming does it have to in real time translate signals from his brain. Of course, she hasn’t asked to look it over, contrary to what Matt, her mother, and Kaathe (who has absolutely no moral ground to criticize her social skills thank you very much) might say she does have a basic sense of tact.

The planet is terrestrial and earth-like, or at least appears as such form orbit. All blues and greens hopefully this mean breathable atmosphere because she doubts even Kaathe has a space suit packed into his things. The lion enters the atmosphere clouds parting for it and flies along a mountain range to a large overhang leading to an almost fairy-tale scene. A massive white castle, everyone’s eyes go a bit wide with awe when it crests the hill. The lion settles down outside it. Shiro straightens up, “alright everyone stay sharp, my crew was abducted by aliens once it wont happen again.” Pidge shoots him a look Kaathe puts his hand on her shoulder and subtly shakes his head. She sighs, Shiro has good reason to distrust alien landscapes, Kaathe’s presence not withstanding.

After cleaning out Blue Lance and Hunk join them in front of the massive sealed gates. At first it seems like a dead end, until the lion roars causing them to slide open. Inside the castle is dark, until a scan verifies their presence. It lingers across Kaathe until a deep rumble from Blue moves it along, gliding over him. The halls of the castle slowly light leaving the pure white halls bathed in pale blue light. Like a summer day, there’s still an otherworldly, almost sterility to the place. Pidge shudders, it reminds her too much of a hospital, or at best, the lobby of an expensive hotel. Too clean, too empty, not alive or lived in. They proceed down the hallway following the lights.

****

Hunk can’t help but feel a bit put off by this whole thing, rescuing Shiro, flying with an actual alien in a giant robot space cat, to a, if he’s being completely honest, kinda creepy alien castle. Lance had said that the Lion called this place home but uh, she’s a giant robot from space so excuse him for not being too keen on assuming that she’s got their interests first and foremost. Lance looks like he’s having the time of his life which is not too surprising he’s always been a man of the moment and they are the first humans out this far. Or is it second? Shiro and the Kerberos crew are out here right? Does that not count? There’s no telling if they’ve been near this planet. His thoughts spiral until they arrive at a large circular chamber with what look like coffins. And oh man no one said anything about alien coffins, this just gets creepier and creepier. Lance goes up to one to knock on it and really_? Lance buddy my blood pressure is high enough right now_. He can feel a bit of stress induced bile rise in his throat. What falls into Lance’s arms though is not a corpse but a white haired, very pretty woman. Who wakes up and is not pleased to see him she’s got Lance in a lock.

“Who are you!? Where is King Alfor?!” Then a roar echoes through the whole room, and holy hell Hunk’s starting to see why Shiro was terrified when he woke up if the look Kaathe has right now is what all angry galra look like. “LET HIM GO WITCH!” He roars it fur on end fangs bared in a snarl that could be either called feral or demonic. The woman’s eyes go wide then she narrows them and spits the word “galra.” She picks Lance up, “stand down galra or his neck gets broken.” Lance flails awkwardly “uh no breaking the neck please! Kaathe buddy do what the nice very scary lady says please, pretty please.” Kaathe growls, “you won’t keep your word. Witch of Zarkon.” That sentence is spat with pure venomous hatred; equaling the woman’s furor. Which makes the woman blink and look thoroughly revolted, “Zarkon? Why would I have anything to do with your Emperor galra?”

Okay this whole thing is very confusing the other pod opens and Shiro warily braces the occupant who seems much less stable on his feet. “Kaathe, why are you so certain she’s with Zarkon?” Kaathe growls, “she reeks of his witch’s magic.” He says it matter of factly not once taking his eyes off her, though that might just be the fact his eyes are really hard to track without a pupil. The stand off is very tense and the red headed alien tries to put Shiro in a lock only to have it turned around, “dratted cryosleep! I’d have had you if not for the stiff limb.” Shiro shakes his head with a chuckle. The woman looks distraught, “Coran! Let him go galra!”

****

Shiro looks between them, this whole thing screams misunderstanding and his crew are the outside force so it’s his job to deescalate, “alright on the count of three we both release our prisoners.” The woman narrows her eyes, Kaathe hisses “we can’t trust them Shiro.” He just keeps watching the princess, “Kaathe, I respect your thoughts, but the Blue Lion wouldn’t have gotten us away from the Empire just to hand us over to them.” Kaathe’s breathing is heavy with, Shiro’s surprised to recognize panic, he must genuinely think Lance is in immediate danger. “One.” She tenses hands on Lance tightening, “what about the Lion?” Shiro shakes his head, “after you free Lance, two.” She scowls even deeper, impressive really, “Three.” He releases the man’s arm and he makes his way to Allura as she releases Lance, a beat after he’d released his prisoner, evidently named ‘Coran.’

“Alright, now how about we all relax,” Shiro makes his body language non-hostile, he puts a hand on Kaathe’s arm, a grip more reassurance than restraint, the second time he’d done this. The first being when the kid he’d come to think of as a little brother stole his hover bike. The fur lowers but the tension doesn’t leave his stance. The woman checks the man as Lance goes to hide behind Kaathe with Hunk. Pidge he notices has a hunting knife out and when did she get that? Last he remembered she hated the outdoors, then again, he had found her in a cave with an alien in hiding, questions for later.

“Now, where’s the Blue Lion, what happened to its paladin?” She looks ready to fight again. “We don’t know what you mean. We’re from a planet called Earth, we found the Lion there, it led us here, and away from one of Zarkon’s cruisers.” She eyes the dais at the center of the room. Shiro backs away using his hand to guide Kaathe and Pidge. He nods to it, she narrows her eyes again, but goes to it. Opening it up her expression melts from fury to grief so painful even after everything that’s happened Shiro finds himself feeling for her. “No. It cannot be. We’ve been in stasis for ten thousand years. Altea it’s… Gone.” She turns on Kaathe tears in her eyes, grief twisting into hate, “is this what you wanted galra? To see me break?” Kaathe fidgets the grief making him much more uncomfortable than the rage. Ducking his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs, the movement scrapes that wound. That person shaped ache that will never fully heal for Shiro.

Pidge steps up, “hey! Lay off, Kaathe’s no friend of the Empire either and I know he’s not into watching someone grieve because of them!” She looks startled like she’s just noticing the smallest human. “How do you know?” It’s bitter but also resigned, she seems to registering that he’s not here to hurt her, and neither are they. The other man comes up to her placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Do you think the Blue Lion would have brought them here if they were allies of the Empire?” She shakes her head, “No, which of you is the...” There’s a pained strain to the next words, “new blue Paladin?”

Kaathe steps aside leaving Lance to make a betrayed and offended gasp, muttering about ‘all the hot chicks being crazy.’ Judging by her expression her ears aren’t just decorative, “yes I suppose that was not the best introduction.” Lance goes red realizing she’s replying to him. Pidge snickers at his expense.

****

They’d moved to the bridge the princess who’d introduced herself as Allura of Altea standing at the controls looking over the castle systems. “Our first priority is finding the other lions, and getting the particle barrier online.” She looks over the systems frowning, “I’ll need time to get the deep scanners to the point where I can use them to track the other lions.” There’s something she’s not saying but Kaathe chooses not to call her on it, he looks like the enemy, he knows that. None of the others can sense the magic clinging to her like a second skin. A certain hum to the air near her, along with, not a scent, more like the memory of a scent, or a snatch of music from a passing car. Nor have they seen the markings like angular symmetrical claw marks down the face of Zarkons witch. Only Shiro may know who she is, and no power in the verse will make him force anyone to relive their time in her ‘care.’

Pidge, and Hunk accompany Coran to the shield systems while Allura has remained on the bridge with he and Shiro. She likely wants to keep an eye on him, which to be fair he wanted to do the same with her. If she’s as strong as Haggar he wont be able to lay a hand on her, but if she tries to hurt any of the humans he’ll die protecting them. Still this doesn’t feel right, the energy that follows the princess is far less powerful and much less twisted than Haggar, if anything, she feels calming, similar to Blue. It could be a trap. “So,” Shiro, he’s been trying to play peacemaker, “how are we supposed to find the other lions, if what the Blue Lion showed us is accurate, we need all five to make Voltron.” Her posture becomes much less tense and her gaze almost hopeful. “Yes, all five lions must be present, and the four others must be brought here before we can free the Black Lion.”

Shiro looks curious, “why’s that? Wouldn’t it be easier to get the others if we had two lions?” Allura shifts her gaze from Shiro, catches his own eyes and the tension returns her gaze hardens and it returns to Shiro, “to protect it, that’s all I’ll say on that.” _With a galra present_ went unsaid but not unheard. Kaathe just rolls his eyes sure maybe without a pupil it’s not the easiest to read and the human gesture seems lost on the princess Shiro lets out a strained laugh when he notices though. “Okay, fair enough,” Shiro tries to forestall any commentary. “What do we do when we find them? Blue had this shield up and it didn’t lower until Lance got to it.” Kaathe mumbles from where he’s reviewing the data he’d found on the other lions “not the first time,” that draws both Allura and Shiro and he realizes he’s said that out loud.

“What,” Allura says, voice dripping venom, his ears flatten, “she let me in once, not fly her,” he’s not hers he knows that, but he doesn’t need the princess rubbing it in. “When?” Shiro’s voice probably meant to ask what the princess wanted to know but with a kinder tone, he takes a breath, this is important. “After Kerberos. After;” his voice chokes a bit, “after they took Matt.” Shiro realizes something, he opts not to say anything not yet. “The lions know, they know who they’re waiting for.” Refusing to look at them he can’t see the abashed look from Allura, her voice lost the venom, not the hardness though, “Kaathe is right, the lions will know their paladin. Though the Red Lion will be difficult, it is the most selective of the group.”

****

Allura stands at the controls to the castle, Coran watches the whole thing, each human named paladin, it was difficult, at first seeing a galra as the first thing he woke up to. Or being put into a hold, but the bargaining, the trust on the part of the man who had him, that wasn’t like the empire. Not during the latter days of the war, and it was clear the boy, and now that he looked at him it’s clear this is a young galra, maybe seventy-five or eighty decaphoebs, barely grown into himself. Still having a bit of kitten fluff and the gangly limbs of a juvenile. Something that seems true of all species. He is someone who hates the empire as much as they, his suspicions seems built on the idea that he and the princess are somehow involved with them. Even after what she’d said about Altea’s destruction. Something he’d confirmed, his heart ached, he had to wonder what the lad had been through to harden him and who’s hands had done it.

Though he didn’t seem quite as on edge with him as the princess, it was enough to make him wonder. She’s an alchemist after all, an apprentice to be sure, but she has the gifts. Gifts that he’d be able to sense if he is similarly gifted, though among galra such gifts were rare, even more so than among Alteans. There were other oddities about the lad, the responses he had to the humans among them. Not just the phrases the young galra understood that neither he nor the princess did, but also the ability pick up on subtle cues, Alteans being chameleons were adapted to pick up on the body language and facial cues of other species. Galra were not, in fact they were somewhat notoriously bad at it, which Kaathe seemed to have trouble yes but nothing like he’d expected. To hear he’d apparently had a friend among those the empire took prisoner the decaphoebe before made more sense but offered another set of questions. According to their numbers three and five Earth was pre-contact, which leaves the how and why of a young galra was stranded on their planet in the air. He’d asked but Pidge just shrugged and said he’d have to ask Kaathe.

It was flippant and rude, Coran would be offended if it weren’t clear that she thought well of the lad. And learning that she had the qualities to be the Green Paladin and come to think of it she did remind him of Trigel. If the Blue Lion, and the Green Paladin trust him, then he’s willing to reach out. Allura though remembers less of the time before Zarkon’s betrayal, and likely less of the Galra who fought alongside them. He hoped they had managed to hide, if they had then maybe Alteans off world had. A long shot, perhaps a false hope, but in the darkest time any light is appreciated. “I’ll go with Pidge to get the Green Lion.” Allura looks like she wants to argue but nods tightly. Likely more out of a desire to be rid of him more than trust, Coran sighs, this will be a trial but, if they can overcome it, team Voltron will come out of this stronger than ever. If no one else is going to be the optimist he puffs out his chest, it’ll have to be him, and he chooses to believe in Allura and these new Paladins.

****

The planet is a lush jungle, because, Pidge thinks bitterly, of course it is. Desert and now tromping through a jungle with what can only be described as a walking, talking? It’s clearly sapient and communicating and who’s she to say it’s not speaking, just because she can’t understand the words. Not like she knows every language on Earth. Not to mention Kaathe who apparently _DID_ have a space suit in his collection of things, he also stole it from the empire when he escaped. It fits, something she could most definitely see her big purple cryptid pulling. Not that this is something she should be concerned about, no it’s because she’s hung up on the whole ‘oh by the way you’re a legendary defender of the universe. Which why? Why her? She’s just out here to find Matt. This is too big too much, and okay maybe she had warning going up, more than the others but-

  
“Stop that,” She startles at Kaathe’s voice, looking at him, “you’re catastrophizing, you and Matt both do it, you think so much and so fast that you get caught in it.” She glowers, how dare he apply what he knows about her brother to her and be right about it too. Then he says something that startles her, “if you spend too long thinking about a problem you miss the chance to do something about it.” She smiles, “not exactly what my dad says but it’s real similar.” Kaathe’s ears flatten in what she’s come to see as effectively a blush. “Mine too, where I learned that one.” She looks at him, ah yet more of their mysterious cryptid comes to the fore. Then a thought hits her, “hey galra are kinda a big thing out, here right?” Kaathe flinches, “yeah.” Ignoring this she looks up at him, “so does that make me the cryptid out here?”

Kaathe balks at her and the tension snaps, they both start laughing, “oh my gosh you are! We should get a picture with you and the sloth post it to the server when we get back.” She smiles at him, “yeah, I bet Matt will have a field day with this.” Kaathe smiles, “oh he’ll have to get dragged out of the castles systems. Assuming the princess doesn’t just kill him for messing with her castle.” They arrive at the temple and Kaathe smiles at her more confident in her than she is in herself. “Knock em dead Green Paladin.” She smiles and slightly more confident strides forward.

At first it seems like nothing will happen, like this whole thing is a big waste of time. Until it happens, she feels it. The power within the temple, and it’s easy to see how the ancient people of Earth and the people here view the lions as sacred. She slips between the vines, towards the energy. Then the Green Lion surges upward up into the sky, Pidge in the driver’s seat. It feels amazing, she misses the fond yet sad look on Kaathe’s face.

****

They get back to find the bridge in dead silence, a galra cruiser on the screen Allura rounds on them. “What did you do?” Kaathe stiffens before he can say anything Pidge puts herself between them. “Nothing, he was with me on the jungle planet, so whatever’s going on it has nothing to do with Kaathe.” Allura turns back to the screen, “a galra cruiser has locked on to us, we shall see whether this galra has anything to do with that or not.” Pidge grits her teeth and moves over the to the console, “I’ll get ahold Lance and Hunk, tell them to double time.” She glares at Allura, “unless you don’t trust the friend of a galra to do such an important task.” Allura turns back to the screen choosing to ignore Pidge’s words. Kaathe puts a clawed hand on her shoulder, “thanks.”

****

Hunk scrambles to the mining elevator, _oh god oh god oh god oh god, I’m going to die._ He’s running as hard as he can dodging laser fire as he goes. “Oh, go to this planet. It’s peaceful planet. Be ready to run I’m going to drop you out of the moving flying space cat, THANKS LANCE,” his helmet buzzes, a message from the castle coming through the Blue Lion to his helmet. “Hunk, Lance we got empire trouble, we need Blue and Yellow asap.” Hunk groans zapping himself on a couple times on the controls to the elevator. Great in addition to being shot at now this is a time attack mission. _Yay, exactly what I wanted_, Hunk thinks bitterly. The elevators starts moving letting Hunk cover his head to avoid laser fire and shrapnel. Okay cave, glowey lion carvings all of this, screams lion cave but no gate seems to be opening up. Maybe it collapsed, or the lion collapsed it to keep the galra out. Ugh, either way he could really use a bit of help. Kicking a rock earns a metallic clang. A drill, that’ll work.

The yellow lion rises into the air with little more than a thought from him and drives itself into the rockets defending Lance and giving Blue an opening shot. “Ready to head back buddy?”

****

The Red Lion is on the galra ship, of course it is, it all feels far too convenient. The commander Sendak sneered at Kaathe but that doesn’t mean he isn’t responsible. Half the paladins want to flee the other half want to fight, and she’s lost. There’s something she’s missing, Kaathe doesn’t seem the monster he looks and yet. He’s only been here a few varga and the galra have found them, after ten thousand years. Worse yet is that fire inside him, a fire that someone had clearly tried to smother, a fire she remembers in her father. But no she will _**never**_ see the Red Lion, her father’s lion in the hands of a galra, that they hold it now is insult enough. Thinking of her father makes her wish she could speak with him. He’d know what to do. “Princess, your father foresaw this, he had his memories placed in an AI in the castle’s core.” She looks at him in hope for the first time in so long. “Take me there.”

The core is so cold, and utilitarian, until the field of flowers erupts around her and there, he is, her father. Not in the flesh as much as she longed for that, but he is still present. “Father. I am lost, these new Paladins do not know the horrors of war. To say nothing of Pidge, the Green Paladin, she has a friend. A galra friend.” She can’t keep the anger out of her voice. “And yet the Lion accepted her? And if the castle’s systems tell me true, the Blue Lion accepted him among the others accompanying him.” She bites her lip, Alfor sits next to her, “I will not berate you for your feelings towards the galra, you lived through the worst betrayal either of us have ever experienced, at an age you never should have had to experience that. But remember, many once fought with us against Zarkon, and he brutally attempted to subjugate them. Many galra families were destroyed by Zarkon. He may hurt in many of the same ways as you.” She looks at him, thinking on the suspicious looks, what she thought was aggression was also fear, an emotion she’d tried to overlook. “Daughter I need you to remember this, you were right, you must fight Zarkon, I may have doomed the universe trying to hide the lions. To fight him you need allies.”

She arrives on the bridge her armor, to honor the fallen, reaffirming who she is, “Coran, I’ve linked the particle barrier controls to your console. We are going to bring the fight to Zarkon, and I have a plan.” It’s a simple plan, Lance and Hunk will pretend to surrender while she, Pidge, Shiro, and Kaathe sneak aboard to take the Red Lion, then Hunk and Lance will attempt to destroy the ion cannon. It hinges on the assumption that the Lion will accept her, even temporarily as her pilot. She hopes being Alfor’s daughter will give her the means to do this.

Sneaking through the corridors they reach their first snag. Shiro remembers being held here. “We need to go. My father and brother might still be there.” Kaathe takes a step forward, Shiro holds up his hand. “I’ll take Pidge to the prisoners, you and Allura need to get to Red.” Kaathe looks like he wants to argue but he just nods. Shiro smiles at him, a fond brotherly expression, “hey. Patience yields focus okay? We’ll get them back.” Kaathe nods, Allura holds her tongue, she doesn’t like the idea but they need to go. Kaathe leads, her connection to the lions is strong true but his steps are sure. “I can feel it, she’s warmer than Blue. But they’re the same, strong, good, safe.” She nods, letting his words reassure her, he can sense the lion. That implies a gift similar to hers. Maybe shared pain and hatred doesn’t need to be the foundation between them.

They get to the Lion and she tries to commune with it. “Please, I know that this is not ideal but we need you. Will you-” the lion’s mind doesn’t even attempt to respond to her pleas. Worse, a full battalion of sentries enters the hangar, “PLEASE” she shouts, “we need you now!” Kaathe picks her up, “they need you more than me.” Throwing her past the sentries he hits a button on the control panel and she watches in horror, shut out of the hangar by blast doors as the lion, Kaathe, and the sentries fell towards Arus below them. Something inside her aches deeply, had she really just encouraged a young man to sacrifice himself? Worse is the look of almost peaceful acceptance as he falls into the void. She screams. Red roars, and no matter how deeply she swore never to let a galra near the Red Lion she is reminded that it is ultimately, not her choice.


End file.
